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Friday, July 15, 2011

Most everyone knows that we are in the process of moving right now. We closed on our house Wednesday, YAY, and I'll write more about that later.

I'm going to hit the pause button on blogging for a few days while we get moved in. With my mom in town, boxes everywhere, and everything we're doing right now, I don't have a lot of time for crafting and/or blogging. But NEVER FEAR! I will be back, just as soon as we get moved in and get Internet in the new house, at which time I am sure I will have lots of amazing and hilarious stories to tell you.

In the meantime, make sure you are subscribed to my blog, either by following it with the little button at the top of the screen, or by adding it to your e-reader. That way, you won't be the last to know when I start posting again! That would be sad.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

I have come to the conclusion that Facebook does not make people stupid, nor is it evil, like some people think. It just encourages us to overshare. Before Facebook, if we had something stupid to say, we said it to one friend or spouse or family member, and that was it. Now, it's like stream of consciousness directly from our brains to our 400 closest friends.

We all do it. Myself included.

So a while back, I asked for feedback from people on Facebook to come up with some basic rules that everyone should follow on Facebook. This is still a work in progress because people are always coming up with new ways to be stupid, but here is what I have so far:

1)Don't Spam

Whether it's Farmville, Mafia Wars, or just a dozen Youtube videos posted at the same time, no one likes it when one person clogs up their news feed.(With the ability to hide these apps now, this has gotten better, but still...no spamming.)

Perfect example: "Hey guys, check out these fifteen Facebook games that I somehow have time to play, even though I routinely complain about never having enough time and always being tired!"

2)Mix it Up

We've all had something awesome happen to us that we couldn't stop talking about, but when you have to read about it every day, it gets old.This goes for countdowns, daily Bible verses, five posts every day about how awesome your significant other is, etc. There has been a lot of emphasis lately on how parents tend to do this with their kids, especially on this site, but they aren't the only ones. It's anything you obsess over, whine about all the time, preach at people, or just can't stop talking about. It's annoying in real life, and it's annoying on Facebook.

This is probably the most common one, and like I said, we all do it, but maybe we could make sure that we don't have more than three posts in a row about the same topic. That seems like a good rule of thumb.

Perfect example: I finally blocked someone several weeks in to a 100 day countdown to a wedding I wasn't invited to.

3)No One Likes Passive-Aggressive

Posting vague, angsty statuses, or biting, angry ones, makes it look like you're fishing for attention.(On the flip side though, some people were annoyed when people asked what was wrong.)

We've all had things we wanted to say on Facebook, but we couldn't be too specific because we didn't want to attack anyone, but we were kinda hoping that one person would read it, and without knowing that we were targeting them, would realize that we were right and they would repent.

That doesn't work. If it makes you feel better, do what I do and just type out what you want to say and then delete it.

Perfect example: "Just want to cry..."

4)Friend Carefully

Friend-stealing (becoming friends with all of someone else's friends, even though you don't know them) and friending people you don't know or just met can be annoying.If you are friends with someone you don't know very well, you probably don't need to constantly comment on everything they do.

Perfect example: You meet someone at a party briefly, and then come home to find that she's already friended you. By the next day, she has commented on every single picture, written on your wall, and friended your mom.

5)Tread Issues Carefully

Just be polite.Don't post about sensitive issues like politics unless you are ready for people to disagree with you.On the other hand, if someone posts something you disagree with, you don't always have to comment.

Can I just say that again? You don't have to comment if you disagree! I think some people really think that everyone has the same opinions as they do, and they are shocked beyond all reason to discover otherwise.

You like THAT sports team? I thought you were at least barely intelligent, you worthless baby-hating pagan!

You're going to stay at home or go back to work after childbirth? Here are twenty reasons why that makes you the worst mother ever.

Seriously. Unless they are posting on your wall, just leave it alone! They have a right to say what they want on their status. It's not the end of the world.

Perfect example: You voted for HIM!? Here's a five-point dissertation (taking up seven comments) on why you are now the sponsor of Satan.

6)Make it Readable

We all make the occasional typo, but completely ignoring what you learned in third grade English is annoying, and constantly writing your status updates in text speak makes me think of you as a lolcat.Try to use at least basic grammar and spelling rules when possible.Also, writing in ALL CAPS makes it look like you're yelling.

Hyperbole and a Half has a great article about this issue. Read that, and pretend I wrote it.

Perfect example: i wnt 2 go 2 the partie 2nit but i cant not find a ride3

7)A Place for Everything

The photo comment box is for...

wait for it...

photo comments!It's not the place to start a completely unrelated conversation.This also applies to status updates directed at one person--that's what walls are for.

There has actually been a word coined to deal with the very specific instances of people commenting on someone else's status/photo/whatever to discuss their own children: mommyjacking. But it's not just parents. I think we've honestly forgotten how to post on someone's walls, or maybe we're just too lazy. I mean, it does take, like, two clicks more to get to the wall than just commenting on whatever is in front of me in the newsfeed. What do I look like, a bodybuilder!?

Perfect example: You say in your status that you had a great day, and someone comments, "Check out the pics from my crazy beach trip!"

8) It's Not a Competition

Probably the most annoying of all of these is the person who feels like everything is a competition, and they have to win. You say you're tired? Well, they got one less hour of sleep than you. You're working hard? They worked twenty hours straight yesterday. You don't feel good? They have Ebola.

The point of this one is that we have lost the ability to believe that someone else can have a valid experience. You can work hard, and someone else can work hard, and that's ok. There doesn't have to be a winner. If someone is having a rough time with something, just say, "That sucks. I'm sorry." That's all you have to say.

Perfect example: You post something about how tired you are after studying for college exams for weeks, and someone comments, "You don't even know what tired is because you don't have kids."

9)Be Discrete

Facebook is not the place to discuss/post pictures of bodily functions or private issues.It's also not the place to publicly announce your phone number or other private information unless you've always wanted a stalker.

Here are a few things that should never show up on Facebook: bodily fluids, parts of the body that are usually covered with clothing, details about custody battles/divorce/sex/family feuds/etc. that would make people uncomfortable, and basically anything that you wouldn't show or talk about in front of someone you barely know. Remember, there is a private message feature that you can use to discuss these things with your close friends, and unless I'm one of them, I don't want to know about it.

Perfect example: "Check out this picture of something gross, LOLZ."

10) Fact Check
Since apparently Facebook is now the place where all those horrible email forwards have gone to die, this is very important. Do not "share" or "like" a post that seems to have information in it unless you have verified it with at least one outside reputable source. Not just a friend or Facebook group you trust who posted it first. Someone who actually cites their sources and has proof. Snopes is the easiest and is still very reliable, but Fact Checker is another good one and there are dozens of others.

11) Leave it Alone

If you see something that violates Facebook's rules, or the rules of human decency, don't help it go viral. Don't do anything except report it to Facebook. Don't comment on it, even to say how terrible it is. Don't share it to show how bad it is. Leave. It. Alone.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

My home is in shambles right now. It seriously takes me almost a full minute to find a flat surface to set a drink down on. Brian woke me up this morning because he stepped on bubble wrap in the hallway. I went to Starbucks yesterday for breakfast because there wasn't room in my kitchen to make a bowl of cereal.

Shambles.

Now, granted, I am not complaining about the fact that we're moving, because we've been trying to move for the past year and a half. But moving and packing itself is just awful. I don't care where you're moving to, or how much money you have, moving is awful. (Unless you pay someone to pack for you move for you, and then unpack when you get there, in which case, you are either in the military or very rich. If the former, thank you for your service. If the latter, I hate you.)

We still don't have a definite closing date, although it could hypothetically be today, so I am packing up with the idea in the back of my mind that I might be living here with all these boxes for weeks or months or years.

Nevertheless, I am determined to be awesome at packing. This weekend, in spite of it being our anniversary, we did a lot of packing. My in-laws came over and helped us pack, which was awesome. As a matter of fact, I think that's Step 1 for How to Be Awesome at Packing.

1) Get help

Because Brian is working, I've been doing a lot of the packing myself, and that's cool, but after a while, it just becomes way too overwhelming and I start to have visions of napalm. Get help. With five of us working on Saturday, we got TONS packed in just an afternoon. It was great. Mom is flying into town today to help us, too. Awesome.

2) Stock up on Supplies

The most important supplies you need for packing are boxes, packing tape, Sharpies, packing paper, nail aprons, and whatever you use for your color coding system. The packing paper is great because it's basically newspaper, but without ink on it, so when you pack stuff, you don't get black hands and clothes, etc., and when you unpack, your dishes are clean! Well worth a couple of extra bucks.

Oh, and you need like, ten rolls of packing tape. I know four seems like a lot, but it's not. It's not at all. I did get the fancy dispenser thingy with the handle, but honestly, I like the simple dispenser better, and that one fits on the carabiner on my packing apron.

We've also been lucky that we haven't had to pay for any boxes so far. Brian has brought home lots of boxes from his work, and last weekend, he got a ton more from the back of the Dollar General. Also, I've heard package stores are great for boxes, but then you run the risk of everyone thinking you're a drunk.

3) Staging is important

One of the most complicated aspects of packing has been, where do we put the stuff once it's packed? We don't have a ton of room, (hence why we're moving) so where do we put all these boxes? For a while, we just kept them in the guest room, but eventually it passed the breaking point in there, and we had to start storing them in the living room. Now they're just everywhere.

Just, everywhere.

4) Be sneaky

There are lots of sneaky little tricks I've learned from reading stuff online about packing. Stuff like, don't waste a box packing all your sheets and blankets. Leave them out and use them for packing fragile stuff or padding furniture. Even t-shirts work well for packing dishes that you know you're going to unpack pretty quickly. Pack your clothes in your luggage, 'cause it would be dumb to put your luggage in boxes. Buy a big package of paper bowls, cups, and plates so you can go ahead and pack all your real stuff.

5) Put your house on a diet

I have seriously thrown away probably a hundred pounds or more since I started packing. I find so much stuff that I can't believe I have kept all these years! Some of it is cool or brings back good memories, but it's not something I'm going to look through or want to keep on a shelf, so I take a picture of it and then toss it. Later, I'll make a photo book out of all my pictures of treasures, and that will be fun, and take up way less space.

I've found lots of loose pictures as I've packed up, and I've been trying to put them in albums so they take up less room, they're protected, and we can enjoy them. Basic photo albums are cheap. I'm not putting them in any specific order or labeling them or anything like that. That needs to happen, but not right now. Right now anything is better than keeping them in a stack in a box in the closet in the guest room.

6) Keep your sanity

Seriously, I am not nearly as stressed as I thought I would be about this. I used to get so stressed about moving, even just moving home from college for the summer. But I'm making a conscious effort to keep my sanity by setting aside time every day to do things I love, like reading, dancing, crafting, and spending time with friends and family. I know it means packing takes longer, but I don't care. Call me selfish, but it is important to me that no one dies in this process.

Monday, July 11, 2011

I went to a craft store the other day to look at their clearance section because I heard there were some cool things there. Among other things, I got a Make Your Own Doll kit.

You know how I love kits.

This was another, "fun happy joy easy" kit, where everything was printed on the material, and all you had to do was cut it out and the thing practically sewed itself together! BLAM! Instant awesome doll.

It was $4.48 on clearance, which I figured was cheaper than I could buy a decent doll, so I thought I'd give it a try. And it came with material to make a reversible dress and two hair ribbons. Awesome! (The kit didn't include stuffing, but I had some left over from some project a while back, so I figured I could use that.)

I cut out all the pieces while I was watching TV, and yeah, that was pretty easy.

Am I the only one reminded of a crime scene?

Putting the doll together wasn't difficult at all. Just sew right sides together and leave a hole in the middle for stuffing. I can do that.

Try not to concentrate on the dead eyes.

Stuffing it wasn't hard either. The stuffing I had was actually quilt batting, but not from this last quilt. From a different one. Anyway, so I had to tear it up to make it fluffy stuffing. It was fun, and it made me feel like I was back in Colonial days, carding wool from the sheep!

Pictured: Polyester Sheep

Then came the hard part. The dress turned out to be way more difficult that the doll, which doesn't make sense to me, but it was. First of all, the directions were very vague, and I had trouble figuring out what they were talking about. Not a lot of pictures to help either.

I finally got the inside and outside of the dress pieced together separately and sewn on the sides of each. Then I had to sew the two sides together. Which I did.

Inside out.

The end result was something that only a deformed alien baby doll could have worn. One without a head.

So I got out my seam ripper and took out all the seams. By the time I was finished, I was covered in little tiny pieces of thread and not in a very good mood.

I then re-pieced the inside and outside together, right side out this time, and managed to sew a dress that a human baby doll could wear.

Mostly human

One problem I had was that the dress pieces weren't all the same size when I cut them out, and I cut them out carefully, so I think they were just printed wrong. I had to trim the pieces quite a bit, making the "dress" more like a "shirt" or "dress they wore on The Brady Bunch, when apparently, bending over was out of style."

I did have to go buy more stuffing, because I ran out after I stuffed the arms, legs, and pigtails. Also, in a couple of places, the seam wasn't strong I guess, so I had to patch that up when I sewed up the stuffing hole. The directions said to use a blanket stitch, and I really should have looked that up, because mine came out looking very unlike a blanket stitch. In fact, it looked kind of like the doll tried to sew itself up with it's little, barely opposable thumbs.

Ok, let's grade doll making.

Time: A-
Difficulty: A-
Expense: A-
Fun: A-
Relaxing: B+

It took a weekend of working on it a little at a time, but really, it didn't take more than a couple of hours from start to finish. Total cost was like $8, which is still less than some dolls, but not as cheap as it could have been. And it was fun and relaxing up until I had to redo the stupid dress.

All in all, I don't think I'll be giving this as a gift, like I'd hoped. I'll keep it for when I have kids. They'll be used to crappy, homemade toys.

Friday, July 8, 2011

﻿I have been wanting to make my own candles for a while now, so I was really excited to finally do it. In my effort to find crafts that are A) Actually useful in some way, and B) Not expensive, I determined to use as much stuff that I already had as possible.

I should back this up. Yesterday, I went to the library to get them to sign off on the next five books on my summer reading sheet ('cause I'm a nerd), and while I was there, I thought, "Well, I'll just check out the craft section and see what they have." This may have been a mistake. Seven books later, I had all kinds of new ideas for crafts! One of the books was about candle making.

Ok, now to continue.

As I have been cleaning out my house and getting things packed, I have found lots of extra candles that I never use. I mean, I have lots of candles I use all the time, but these were taper candles and a whole bag of votive candles that weren't scented and I never used because I don't like having to find the holders. I prefer candles that come in jars so you can just light them.

The only things I needed to buy were some scent oils and some wicks. I went to Hobby Lobby and their candle section has quite a lot of stuff in it, actually. They have wax that you can use, although I didn't get any, and lots of scents, wicks, jars, molds, etc. It was very tempting to get one of everything, but I am trying very hard to spend less money, so all I ended up getting was one box of medium-length wicks and one small jar of scent oil. Total cost was $5.00. Not bad!

When I got home, I was so excited to start that I kinda forgot to get prepared at first. This was a mistake. I put some wax in a tin can left over from last night's dinner (washed) and put the can in some water in a pot. I did this because wax is apparently flammable, which doesn't make sense to me, but I didn't want to burn the apartment down one week before we move out.

I had trouble with the can because it wasn't heavy enough and it kept trying to float around in the water, so I had to put something on top of it.

That's duct tape around the edges because the can kept lacerating me.

It was at this point that I realized I should gather everything I need for this project.

I actually used quite a few more candles than that. The cheap, white votives that I had in a bag of like 100 were great. I just pulled the wick out and popped them in the can. The long tapers I had to break into smaller pieces and pull the wick out, but a couple of them wouldn't come out, so I just waited until they melted and then took it out.

It didn't take very long for the wax to start melting.

I'm melting! I'm melting!

For the jars, I just found some old candles that I had used up and just had a little layer of wax in the bottom. I'm always nervous about burning them at that stage because one time I had three candles shatter at the same time because they had all burned down too low. Scary. So I don't throw them away because I'm like, "Well, there's still some left," but I don't burn them because I'm like, "I don't want to die." Now I have a solution! I pried the little piece of wax and wick out, which was easy, and then rinsed and dried the jar. Voila! New candle jar for free! You can even put that bit of wax in the can and melt it down to make the new candle, if the scents are compatible.

I also used a couple of condiment cups that I had bought for a party and then never used. They were just the right size for a votive-style candle or wax melting tart.

So the wax was liquid at this point, and it's time to pour it. I take it out of the boiling water with my tongs and add 1/2 teaspoon of scented oil. I don't know if this is the right amount, because the "recipes" in the book were made in much bigger batches, but it seemed right. Sure. Why not? Then, using my tongs, I pick up the can and start pouring the wax carefully into the jar.

It was awesome! I felt like I was forging the One Ring or something, pouring the hot liquid carefully into the mold. It was so hardcore.

This is the point where the can slips out of the tongs and spills wax all over my stove.

Boo.

At first, I was really worried, but then I realized that if you just let it dry for a second, to where it's still warm but a little harder, you can gently scrape it up and put it back in the can. It's like, a craft with a redo button!

I made a couple more batches, and I used more wax this time, so the can didn't float all over the place. I tried to keep the colors separate, so I would use the blue taper and a bunch of white candles, and then I'd do a batch with the red taper and a bunch of white candles. That way I didn't end up with brown candles. Eww.

And by the way, the scent I got was pineapple cilantro, because I really like food scents apparently, and because pineapple is a great scent. It smells like happiness.

The trick to pouring the wax (besides using a pot holder instead of tongs) is to pour just a little bit into the bottom of the jar and let it start to harden. Then you stick the wick, with its little metal holder thingy, down in there and let it set. That way when you pour the rest of the candle, the wick is already in place and you don't have to worry about it falling over, unless you were impatient and tried to pour too soon after you stuck the wick in there.

Not that I would know about that.

In the end, I ended up with two big candles, one votive, and two tarts. I made the votive with a wick that I pulled out of another candle, so that was cool, too.

I'm burning one now, and it smells nice. Not too strong, but I can definitely smell it.

This is kind of a messy craft, but it cleans up pretty well. After all, wax melts at a really low temperature, so all you have to do is run hot water over something and the wax melts right off. My hands did smell like the candles for the rest of the evening, but that was ok. And I still have eight wicks and half a bottle of scent to use later. If I did this a lot, I would want to get one of the big bottles of scent they have, but that's no biggie. As far as time goes, I did it in about an hour and a half or two hours. Not bad, from start to finish, including clean up.

Ok, so let's grade candle making:

Time: A
Difficulty: A
Expense: A+
Fun: A+
Relaxing: A

This is a fun craft. I would definitely do it again. Plus, it makes something I actually use, and would actually give to a friend.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

A while back, I posted about Awesome People, so it's only right that I talk about awesome things as well. There are lots of really cool things in our lives, but only a few truly awesome things. These things go above and beyond the normal stuff, to give something to our lives that is just awesome. Things like:

The Air Conditioner

I already mentioned that Willis Haviland Carrier was the inventor of the modern air conditioner, which makes him awesome, but the AC itself is quite amazing. I live in Alabama, where a large part of the year is not only ridiculously hot, but oppressively, "I'd lay down in the middle of the street and cry if the pavement weren't 500 degrees" humid. The AC not only makes things cooler, but it also takes out the humidity. That makes life livable. It's bad enough that you have to pretty much swim to your car through all the moisture in the air. If I had to swim around my house too, we'd move.

Publix

Publix is an awesome grocery store that we have only gotten here in Alabama in the past few years. Why is it more awesome than say, Food World or even Wal-Mart? Well, for starters, they have crazy sales going on all the time, like, buy one get one free on cereal, which is how I support my Reece's Puffs Cereal habit. They also have this guy who gives out samples every evening, but these are not normal grocery store samples. This is an entire mini-meal! A tiny entree and one or two mini sides! AND they give you a recipe card for the meal, AND all the ingredients for the meal are right there by the guy in this little refrigerator. So you can grab everything you need. And you know the meal is good because you tasted it, and you've got the recipe! Any place that does my menu planning for me is awesome in my book!

Bees

Not only do bees make honey, one of the greatest condiments on the planet, they make beeswax, they pollinate our plants, and they're super organized about it. Sure, they have stingers and they kinda freak me out in person, but they're doing a lot of good in the world, is what I'm saying. I just don't want them doing it near me.

Polarized Sunglasses

I had what I thought were polarized sunglasses for a long time, but apparently they were lying to me. I bought my first pair of real ones at the beginning of the summer, and WOW! It's like, the real-life equivalent of rose-colored glasses! Everything looks more beautiful, sharper, and more defined. I'll be gushing over a sunset for a long time, only to find out that to everyone else, it's only half as beautiful. Sad for them. They are also great because they let you see tint on windshields and stuff, which makes you feel like you have x-ray vision or something, and if you turn your head sideways, the glass gets darker. This causes some strange moments when I'm standing there staring at something and slowly tilting my head to the side and back up again, but it's totally worth it.

If I ever get my hands on a pair of Costa del Mars, I'm done for!

Chick-fil-a Lemonade

Chick-fil-a is pretty awesome in general. They have lots of stuff I could have put on the list, but the best by far is their lemonade. I'm pretty much a lemonade junky anyway, but this stuff is amazing. I don't understand how theirs can be so much better than mine since there are only three ingredients and since Brian used to work at Chick-fil-a and should know their secret, but it is. So much better than mine. I think they put a fourth ingredient in there: liquid joy.

Rotary Cutters

My recent experiements with quilting have given me a strong appreciation for how awesome a rotary cutter is. If you don't know what it is, it's like scissors, but in a circle, so I guess more like a razor. But it's not scary or dangerous really, because they have a handle and a little retractable thing so you can store it safely. They also have these self-healing mats that you cut on, and they don't leave any grooves or scratches, even though you are cutting on them. Hmm.....retractable and self-healing? They are like, the Wolverine of sewing supplies! Pretty awesome.

Burt's Bees

Don't confuse this with regular bees above. Burt's Bees is chapstick. Well, chapstick and now a lot of other things that I don't use, but mainly chapstick. The best chapstick. It makes your lips kinda tingly and then not chapped at all, which is definitely the idea. And unlike some other chapsticks who will remain nameless, it smells great. I know it's a little thing, chapstick, but it's awesome.

Wax Melters

My friend Mindy gave me a wax melter recently, and I am amazed that I never knew how awesome they were until now. This is an electric one too, so there's no flame to worry about. You just turn on the little light bulb inside it, and then you put your little cube or tart of wax on the tray, and it slowly melts the wax and makes you whole house smell awesome! It's great because unlike buying a candle, which is a commitment to like, twenty hours of smell, you can buy little tarts or cubes for like, two dollars a pack, and change the scent up every day. I apparently prefer food smells, and right now I have a vanilla wax melting that makes me really want some cookies.

Ziplocks

Seriously, ziplocks are probably the most awesome thing. Think of everything you can do with ziplocks. Store stuff in the refrigerator, sure, but I mean, everything goes in ziplocks. Got a bunch of pencils/markers/juggling balls that you want to keep together: gallon size ziplock! Need to keep a pair of socks dry while your hiking in the rain: quart sized ziplock! Need to take some delicious White Cheddar Cheeze-Its to work with you: snack sized ziplock! Need to make Shake and Bake: gallon sized ziplock again!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

There were a combination of reasons that I decided to go ahead and start my t-shirt quilt, even though I'm not finished with my first one. First of all, when I started actually quilting my ladybug quilt, I realized that I don't know jack about actually quilting. This came as a shock to me because I grew up watching my mom do it, and really, it's just basically sewing, so that's not hard, right?

False.

Quilting is extremely difficult, and even after watching three or so videos on ehow.com, I am still not able to do a decent job of it.

The Practice Piece of Shame

That right there puts it in the "difficult" category. If I can't watch a video or two online and figure it out, it's gone past the "moderately challenging" level.

So it occurred to me that maybe, like with so many other things, I have started at a level that is above "beginner." I thought maybe if I do a simple quilt, it will give me the background for how to be awesome at difficult quilting.

Also, as I was packing stuff the other day, I found the giant stack of t-shirts that I have been saving to make a quilt with, and I figured that making it would be easier than packing them all up and hauling them to the new house. T-shirts are heavy!

Having already had a tutorial in basic quilting from Bekah and Mrs. Woosley, I started by making a pattern and cutting out my squares. I wanted each square to be twelve inches, since that seemed, from the Google searches I did, to be the typical size for t-shirt squares. It's big enough for most logos. I finally broke down and bought a big rotary cutting mat, so that made things easier, too.

Most real sewing people (people other than me) said that I shouldn't make a quilt out of t-shirts because the material is too stretchy. I'm sure this was very wise advice, but I did it anyway. I'm not sure what the consequences are of the material being stretchy, but I'm sure they are grave. I even bought some interfacing to iron on the backs of the shirts because Google told me that this might help with the stretchy problem. In the end, I didn't end up using it though because A) several people on the Interweb said that they didn't need it; B) when I got home, I realized I didn't buy nearly enough and I didn't want to go back; and C) I was afraid that the interfacing would make the t-shirts not so soft, which was kind of the whole idea. So I just decided to wing it, and I figured if stretchiness became an issue, I could always get more interfacing.

I had twenty-five t-shirts to work with. Some of them, though, only had pocket designs, so I couldn't use them for the quilt (but I saved the pocked designs to make a pillow!). But since some of the shirts had designs on the front and the back, it actually worked out that I had exactly twenty-five squares. Sweet! I also cut out as many blank squares from the backs or fronts as I could, and I think I'm going to use those to make the back of the quilt.

So I laid them all out and started sewing the horizontal rows.

The nice thing about the t-shirt quilt is that it's way less formal that my other one. I didn't even have to iron it! Well, I started ironing it, like a good quilter, but it didn't really help at all because the shirts were so floppy. Maybe that was the stretchy part. But I just pinned all the seams before I sewed them and it wasn't really an issue.

When I started sewing the rows together, I definitely had to pin the seams. I would never have been able to just line it up like I did my other one. But again, it worked just fine, and now I have the front of my quilt finished!

I thought about just tying the front and back together and not even having a batting in the center, but since I am supposed to be using this to practice, and since I think it will help it keep it's "blanket shape" a little better and not be quite so floppy, I think I will. I'm just going to do a simple "Stitch in the Ditch" quilting though, which is just quilting along the seams. (See how awesome I sounded throwing that quilting jargon around?)

I love this quilt though, because it has so many great memories in it. I used t-shirts from high school band stuff, youth group, college, the school I worked at, and shirts people had given me. It's so soft, too, which is the great thing about old t-shirts.

Oh, and I took the scraps from the shirts to my sister-in-law, Pamela, and she showed me how to make some other cool stuff from them. Yay!

“My dad dared me to bring a girly lunchbox to school today…I thought he meant a little pink, but he meant REEEEEALLLY girly!!!!” (and he did, too)

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One of my co-worker's kids just looked at me one morning and said, “Woah! Bad hair day!”

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(one student to another)

“Hey, remember that time Robot Minjas attacked us on the playground when we were by ourselves?!”

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The kids were doing a Thanksgiving acrostic naming things they are thankful for.

Me: Sweetie, are you really thankful for Vikings, or was that just the only v word you could think of?

Student: <exasperated> Mrs. Grubbs! Vikings were the first people to discover America! That’s really important!

I stand corrected.

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Me: I didn’t get a cell phone until I was 22—and married.

Student: WOAH!! That’s…...that’s...…not something you hear every day!

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“A wasp can sting like a bee, ‘cept it hurts WORSER!!!"

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One first grader, known for his vivid imagination, was telling everyone about something crazy, and after a while, one of his classmates finally looked at him and just said, “My Lord, Ian!”

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I was invited to be a back-up singer in one of the first graders' new band. But he made me agree to a few things first:

1) I’m not allowed to play any orchestra instruments, especially tuba.

2) We are going to make a lot of money.

3) No fighting.

4) I have to try out first, to make sure I’m good.

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On the list of things you never thought students would have to say to a teacher:

“Mrs. Grubbs, where should I put your sword so I can get a beanbag?”

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Me: Zorro was a bandit, but he was a good bandit.

Student: Kinda like a frienemy!

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“My friend is glad I gave him these stickers so now he has a sword for minja monkey.”

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"Mrs. Grubbs, if we were in Miami, I think we should name our school Christian School International, so we could be CSI Miami."

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Name one season in which hail usually falls.

Answer: Christmas

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"In my world, every Wednesday is Hairy Pickle Day."

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Our Journal prompt was "The Time I Spent the Night at School"

Student 1: "One day I was working inside at school when KBAMMM!!! a blizzard hit and I could not get out so what I did was I snuck into the office and put black make up on my face to use as war paint. Then the battle was on. Then I ran and tried to bust out a window. Well, let's just say that's why I wear a cast..."

Student 2: "One day I spent the night at school...all the lights went out, and I mean all the lights. Not a single one worked. Then I heard feet squeaking. It was a tragedy."

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Two students were arguing over who got to sit in the bean bag chair.

Me: Who got to it first?

Student: She did.

Me: Ok, well then she gets to sit in it.

Student: Yeah, but don't you always tell us to put others before ourselves??

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"Mrs. Grubbs, for some reason the tango got stuck in my head. Then I started singing the hokey pokey, and I was trying to do one with one side of my body and one with the other side, and it's not really working out."

Monday, July 4, 2011

Most every year, we go out to our friends, the Howers', house for the 4th of July, along with several other families and friends of theirs. This year, I was assigned desserts for the 12 or so adults and 8 or so kids who were going to be there. My knee-jerk reaction was to go by Publix and pick up a cake or pie or something, but then I remembered, no, I don't do that anymore. I make my own stuff now! So I did.

USA Jello Parfait

The first thing I wanted to do was make a red, white, and blue jello parfait in a big bowl. I've seen it done lots of times and it always seems like the quintessential patriotic dessert. I didn't really have a recipe, but how hard can it be, right? I made a pan of red jello and a pan of blue jello the night before (2 boxes each). Then, I kinda cut the jello up into rough cubes so it would be easier to spoon out, and I put the red in the bottom of the bowl, being careful to put lots around the edges so it would look cool. I also put a few raspberries around the edge.

Then I put a layer of light cool whip on it, and then the blue jello. I also put a couple of handfuls of blueberries in because I got blueberries BOGO at Publix, so I had tons.

Then another layer of cool whip, and then I used raspberries and blueberries to make a flag on top. I even managed to make thirteen stripes, but that wasn't intentional. (It wasn't until Brian reminded me that I should be counting the white stripes as well as the red that I realized it was possible.)

Betsy Ross would be proud.

Honey Almond Cookies

One of my friends does this blog where she makes a new cookie recipe every week for a year. Pretty cool. She did Honey Icebox Cookies this week and they looked delicious, so I thought I'd try them. I am a huge fan of honey, and they sounded unusual enough that people wouldn't just pass over them like normal cookies. I changed the recipe a little because I didn't have any lemon extract, and I love almond extract, so I used that instead.

They were amazing. I made the dough a couple of nights ago and just stuck it in the fridge, and then I cooked them for the minimum amount of time because I love soft cookies, and I don't like crunchy ones at all. They came out perfect. I put a few red and blue sprinkles on top before I baked them and voila! Instant patriotic cookies!

These were a hit with kids and adults.

America Jar Cakes

I was originally just going to make some cupcakes, but then Mallary, my sister, told me about this genius idea she found online to cook cake in Mason jars. You can find the recipe here, but basically you just prepare a boxed white cake mix (I doubled mine) and then divide it into 3 bowls.

Put a whole thing of red dye in one, a whole thing of blue dye in another one, and leave the third white. Scoop about 1/4 c. of red, then white, then blue batter into the jars, layering as best you can.

Doesn't that look like liquid America?

Then put the jars on a cookie sheet with some water in the bottom and cook at 325 for 40-55 min. When they have completely cooled, spoon some icing on top and then sprinkles if you want. They are fabulous.

This became quite a saga, because I ended up doing the whole thing twice. I was also assigned desserts at Brian's parents the day before, so I did my first trial there. My batter was a little thin, so it made it harder to layer. I used pint jars, which were wider mouthed, but fatter, so they were harder to get the red, white, and blue striped look. Mallary used half-pint jars, and she put a little oil between the layers, and they came out in pretty much perfect stripes. Her downside was that they tended to cook too fast because the jars were smaller. That, and they baked over the top of the jars so she had to cut the tops of the cake off to be able to ice them.

I also put too much batter in them the first time and everyone ended up pretty close to a diabetic coma by the time they finished them, so the second time around, I didn't use so much batter in each jar, and I used the extra to make about 20 cupcakes (remember, I used two boxes of cake mix). The jars were still plenty full.

I also found that the funfetti cake mix that I used worked way better than the Duncan Hines white cake. The batter was thicker and made it way easier to layer. Plus, it's funfetti. Duh.

I really loved that when you ate the cake, it looked like American confetti on your fork. It was so colorful!

I know it's blurry, but don't you still want to salute?

The best part of the whole thing was when I was putting the lids on and I was like, "I wish I had something to make these look really cute, like some red fabric." And then I was like, WAIT! I have TONS of red fabric left over from my quilt, already cut up into little 5 inch squares and the edges are all pinking-sheared. (is that a phrase?) Then I realized that not only did I have red, I had white too! By this point, I was literally flailing my arms around and jumping in circles in the living room, doing a happy dance. I think Brian thought I was having a hyperglaucemic fit or something. But it was just a really good idea, and I was really excited. See how cute they are?

God bless America!

And here are the cupcakes, which were also multi-colored inside. One of the girls there said she didn't like them, she LOVED them.

It's what the founding fathers would want.

The cake in the jar went great with ice cream, and in fact, we just scooped the ice cream right into the jar! Some of the men discovered that putting a cookie in the jar and then ice cream, and then eating the whole thing was apparently delicious. Why does a cake with icing and sprinkes and ice cream also need a cookie on top?

Friday, July 1, 2011

Yesterday, I had to go to the dentist. It was one of those experiences that was not at all pleasant, but for which I am grateful in the long-run. That made me think about this list.

Things that Are Awesome Unless They're Happening to You:The Dentist Version

1) Novocaine

Novocaine is really awesome. Considering the alternative is unmedicated oral surgery, Novocaine is fabulous. And I really like that dentists always numb your mouth before they give you the shot that numbs your mouth, just so you won't feel the pain of the shot. That is very nice of them.

But have you ever looked at that frickin' syringe? It's like, four inches long! I'm always terrified that they are going to stick the needle all the way through my cheek and turn me into a female version of Hell Raiser. Seriously, I've got pretty chubby cheeks, and even my cheek isn't that thick! That, and I always end up getting the shot directly on my nerve, which hurts like all get-out.

Oh, and did I mention I'm apparently part-cyborg and resistant to the numbing meds? So it takes twice as much Novocaine as usual to get me numb. I figured this out the first time they started drilling and I could still feel it! Not. Cool.

And then there's the whole being numb thing. Because it takes extra, I end up numb on one entire side of my head. Scalp, ear, eyelid, jaw, lips, cheek--everything numb. Not necessarily a terrible thing, but very, very weird. So I go around for the rest of the day looking like Quasimodo, only able to smile with half of my face and drooling out of the other side. Awesome.

2) X-Rays

I'm glad that doctors and dentists have a way to look inside of me without having to take me apart. That is awesome. I'm also glad that they have lead aprons that keep me from shriveling up like the guy at the end of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Also awesome.

But every time I get an x-ray, all I can think is, "Is this the time when I turn into the Incredible She-Hulk? What will my x-man powers be? I hope it's not a stupid power like Mr. Fantastic. I hope it's flight. But what if I am a bad guy? What if my power makes me the super villain?"

Granted this is not like, horrible, or anything, but it does concern me.

(And yes, I realize I may be confusing x-rays, radiation, gamma rays, radioactive spiders, genetic mutations, and something that happened in space that I can't remember. They're all pretty much the same to me.)

3) Dental Procedures in General

I am definitely a fan of dentistry. Two of my uncles are dentists. Dentists keep your teeth pretty and looking nice and since the alternative is having your teeth fall out, dentists are awesome.

However, when you are in the middle of a procedure, it does not feel awesome. It feels like someone is trying to torture a confession out of you. They're holding your mouth wide open, sticking drills and whatnots into it, and putting all kinds of chemicals in there. I kept thinking, don't sneeze, don't swallow, don't twitch, because if I do, I will make him slip and he'll drill a hole in the roof of my mouth like a whale!

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All in all, I cannot complain about my trip to the dentist. They have this amazing technology that lets them make a crown for you right there while you are sitting in the chair, and then they put it on in like an hour. No more temporary crowns and having to come back days later and get the real one. And they use this 3D imaging laser camera. That was awesome. And like I said, Novocaine is awesome because I would die if I had to do that without painkillers. Plus, back in Dr. Quinn days, if you had a sore tooth, they just pulled it out! Gahh!

So yeah, I'm very grateful. But when it's happening to you, your primal instincts kick in, and you can't tell your primal instincts to be grateful for modern medicine and dentistry. They only know that something scary is happening and that unless you want to be a woolly mammoth's dinner, you should run away, right now.

About Me

I am a wife to an awesome husband and mother to an awesome daughter. I am a former teacher. I enjoy reading, dancing, homemaking, and trying new hobbies. When I stopped teaching, I joked that my mentality was, "Finish teaching. Become awesome at everything." And that's how this blog got started.

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